Pictures by.MALEX YAHAYA
The annual Ramadan month draws over half a million visitors to the bazaar in Taman Cempaka in Malacca.
The easy access to the Melaka Sentral bus station and the popular shopping mall attract the visitors to the bazaar from 3pm until the wee hours of the following day.
An array of food items including kuih muih are the favourite food for breaking fast for Muslims while other would return later to shop for clothes from the numerous stalls.
The savoury dishes on sale include ayam percik, fried mee, yong tau foo, pulut udang, nasi kerabu, nasi padang, roti jala, satay, roti bom, nasi tomato, nasi campur and many more other dishes.
To quench the thirst, there are stalls selling coconut water, sugarcane, orange juice, sirap Bandung with jellies, teh tarik, barli and kiwi juice.
As you enter the bazaar in the evening, the first thing you will see is the large number of people queuing patiently in front of the food stalls.
Apart from the noise from the smell of food, customers can also get themselves entertained by watching one of the hawkers, Amin Abdullah, aged 10, tossing roti canai’s with ease and grace with his small hands.
Amin who is the youngest among nine siblings had mastered the art of making roti canai from his father six months ago and his ambition was to become a businessman.
Edwin Lee, 31, said he enjoyed visiting the Ramadan bazaar every year because he was spoilt for choice with the amount of foods available.
“Sometimes you can buy certain types of food here where it is not available during the rest of the year,” Lee said after buying a murtabak Arab ayam.
The hawker who sold the murtabak, Mohd Jaafar, 40, said business is excellent during the fasting month when he easily sells off his 250 pieces of murtabak each day.
A ayam percik trader braving the heat as he lays rows of the delicacy on the hot coal.
After the break of fast, the stalls selling clothes, accessories and textiles are the focal point for the shoppers.
Sisters, Siti Aqidah, 18, Siti Hajah, 19, and Siti Abidah, 17, from Taman Peringgit were seen shopping for their Raya baju kurungs.
“This night market has the latest fashion trends that you normally won’t see in shopping centres, plus it is nice and cool to walk at night, “ Siti Aqidah said.
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